LAUSD facing 5,000-plus job cuts

The Los Angeles Unified school board is expected to vote on a two-year budget plan today that calls for the elimination of more than 5,000 district positions unless employee unions agree to furloughs and pay cuts.

The layoffs could be avoided if all district employees were to take an 11.75 percent pay cut, which could come in the form of furloughs or other cuts.

The district is facing a shortfall of some $1.2 billion through 2012, according to a report by Chief Financial Officer Megan Reilly.

The layoffs would include nearly 1,400 teachers, which would balloon class sizes in kindergarten through third grade to a student-teacher ratio of 29 to 1 from 24 to 1.

A majority of the layoffs though, would come from out-of-classroom positions, including almost 1,000 janitors and maintenance workers, 520 school office workers and 200 school administrators. Schools will also see across-the-board, 20 percent cuts in school nurses, campus aides, counselors, librarians and administrators.

The district also proposes cutting its central office by more than 15 percent, including the reduction of local district offices from eight regional sites to four.

While most board members said some reductions were inevitable, they also said they hoped district employee unions will come forward with concessions to prevent cutting too deep into classrooms.

The district is even considering a limited parcel tax to raise up to $200 million that could be on a ballot as early as November 2010 to reduce cutbacks.

"There is no question in anyone's mind that if we don't all come together and find shared solutions, the impact is going to be catastrophic," said LAUSD board member Steve Zimmer.

"It is no exaggeration to say ... that it will be the end of public education in the city of Los Angeles as we know it, and that is admitting that the service we already provide is not enough."

So far one union, SEIU Local 99, representing bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers, has agreed to four furlough days this year. SEIU bus drivers have approved 10 furlough days to prevent cuts to their unit specifically.

Also, the California School Employees Association reached a tentative agreement with the district for the unpaid work days that still have to be approved by its members. No unions have come forward with any plans to take pay cuts for the 2010-11 school year.

According to the district's budget estimates, if all employees took an 11.75 percent pay cut, no layoffs would be needed, but leaders of United Teachers Los Angeles, the local teachers union, said they could not see themselves agreeing to more reductions to teacher salaries.

"These people are sacrificing every day ... We have not taken raises for three years, we spend a lot of money out of pocket and we put in extra time for our kids," said Julie Washington, elementary vice-president for UTLA.

"I'm afraid with a 12 percent pay cut we'll see homeless teachers ... if we have teachers taking furloughs we will not be able to provide a quality service to our children."

UTLA is planning a protest in front of LAUSD's downtown headquarters today. Washington said the rally is not only intended to denounce LAUSD's proposed reduction, but also to ask state and federal legislators to provide better funding for schools.

A kindergarten teacher, Washington said she felt the increase in class sizes for young students to be particularly unfair.

"Over the last two years we have increased the class sizes for our youngest customers by almost 10 students in a class ... in our toughest schools small class sizes is the name of the game because if we can get these kids when they're young, those students have the best chance of being successful."

LAUSD board member Tamar Galatzan, also a mother of two LAUSD students, said for the first week of school for her youngest son, his kindergarten class had 29 kids.

"When it finally got down 24, granted he's only 5 years old, but he said it was much easier to learn ...," she said. "He's 5 and he gets it."

Also, part of the new budget proposal is to reduce funding for several programs, including a cut of 20 percent to gifted education programs, a 50 percent cut to elementary music and art programs, and the elimination of all funding to open new magnet schools. A proposal to shut down low enrollment schools is also on the table.

Galatzan said she has received several calls from parents, teachers and community members asking her to spare a particular program, but at this point she said the district has run out of options.

"All cuts are painful, but when community members, teachers and other staff are lobbying to keep a program, they need to help us find the equivalent amount of cuts somewhere else," she said.

One silver lining to the district's budget crisis is that LAUSD will continue to decentralize its operations, allowing schools to make more of their budget decisions on their own.

"Schools will be able to tailor to their needs," said Lydia L. Ramos, a district spokeswoman.

In the past, the district determined how many custodians, campus aides or even administrators would be at a school based on the number of students. Now schools will be allowed to decide, on their own, how many of these positions they pay for.

Of course, some standards will be required. For example, no school will be able to run without a principal.